More HIV diagnoses than ever in NZ

‘‘There’s no reason why it won’t keep on increasing if we don’t improve prevention.’’ Dr Peter Saxton

More people were diagnosed with HIV in New Zealand last year than at any other time since records began in 1985.

New figures from Otago University’s AIDS Epidemiology Group show 244 people were diagnosed with HIV in New Zealand in 2016.

The previous highest number of diagnoses was 224, in 2015.

Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men were most affected.

Of the 244 people diagnosed, 159 were men infected through homosexual sex. That number was up from 136 in 2014 and 153 in 2015.

Forty-two people – 22 men and 20 women – were infected through heterosexual sex, while one person was infected through injecting drugs.

For most of the other people, the means of infection was not reported. About 3500 people in total are estimated to be living with HIV in New Zealand.

AIDS Epidemiology Group leader Dr Sue McAllister said the increase in diagnoses in 2016 could be partially attributed to an emphasis on HIV testing among atrisk communities.

However, blood tests indicated that almost half the men who had been infected through homosexual sex had contracted the virus ‘‘relatively recently’’.

That suggested a ‘‘true rise’’ in the number of HIV infections throughout New Zealand, she said.

Of the men diagnosed in 2016 who were infected through homosexual sex, 95 were European, 41 Asian, 15 Maori, seven of Pacific Island descent and 11 of other ethnicities. The majority – nearly 60 per cent – lived in Auckland.

Of the people infected with HIV through heterosexual sex, 18 were Asian, 16 European, five African, one Pacific Islander, one Maori, and one of another ethnicity.

The new figures come after the Government cut funding for a landmark HIV prevention study, despite an internal report outlining the dangers of discontinuing the research.

The University of Auckland has undertaken the only large-scale monitoring of HIV risk behaviours and trends among men who have sex with men in New Zealand since 2002. However, the Ministry of Health withdrew funding for the study for 2017.

The study’s lead researcher, Dr Peter Saxton, said it was ‘‘frustrating’’ to see rates of HIV infection among gay and bisexual men continuing to climb.

His researchers had no current behavioural data so ‘‘we simply don’t know what’s driving the increase’’, he said.

‘‘There’s no reason why it won’t keep on increasing if we don’t improve prevention.’’

The latest study, conducted in 2014, showed that condom use among gay and bisexual men was declining, and while more men were being tested for HIV, that was not having a ‘‘measurable impact’’ on the epidemic.

Saxton said ‘‘literally everything’’ had changed in the field of HIV prevention.

‘‘Internet dating and dating apps are so common – they change the way people meet sexual partners, and make it easier for HIV to move around a community.’’